Group of students files plunder complaint against Alcala

On top of the rising prices of rice and garlic, embattled Secretary Proceso Alcala now would also have to deal with a P75-million plunder complaint filed against him by a youth group at the Office of the Ombudsman.

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In a 13-page complaint, Youth Act Now on Wednesday accused Alcala of misusing P36 million of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel by transferring the amount to a certain Economic and Social Cooperation for Local Development Foundation Inc. when he was a Quezon congressman. The group also claimed that Alcala, as Agriculture secretary, authorized the transfer of P39 million also in PDAF to fake non-government organizations owned by Janet Lim-Napoles.

The complainants are students from University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University, among other schools.

To bolster their claims, they cited the Commission on Audit’s Special Audit Report on PDAF usage from 2007 to 2009 and the sworn affidavit of Napoles.

“In the past days, we have witnessed the initial criminal proceedings against senators involved in the pork barrel scam. Yet the Palace [is]yet to charge any high-
ranking Cabinet official involved in the pork barrel scam. The youth can’t wait any longer for the government to throw the book against administration allies also involved in the ‘pork’ scam,” Youth Act Now said in a statement.

The group was referring to the arrest and eventual detention of senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada in connection with the separate P224 million and P183 million plunder charges against them, respectively, pending at the Sandiganbayan.

The charges stemmed from the P10-billion pork barrel scam allegedly masterminded by Napoles.

Plunder is committed when a public official amasses ill-gotten wealth worth at least P50 million through a combination or series of overt criminal acts by himself or in connivance with members of his family, relatives, business associates and subordinates.

“The case against Secretary Alcala is the first of several suits that Youth Act Now will be filing in the next few days. Budget [and Management]Secretary Florencio Abad is next on the list,” the group added.

Abad has been called by Napoles as her “mentor” on accumulating kickbacks thru PDAF releases.